Storage: Page

Virtual desktop infrastructure tutorial: Part 2

In Part 2 of our virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) tutorial, we'll discuss which new products promise to make VDI simpler.

Feb. 24, 2009

How to optimize your backup tape rotation strategy

Backup tape rotation is an essential part of any good data backup plan. Here's a look at some of the more common tape rotation strategies and the pros and cons of each.

By Rick Cook • Feb. 2, 2009

Fibre Channel SAN switches tutorial

Learn all about Fibre Channel SAN switches with these articles on selecting the right switches and the best practices for managing FC switching environments.

Dec. 8, 2008

Server blades and storage

Many IT shops are moving from traditional rack-mounted servers to blade configurations in hopes of reducing power and floor space requirements in their data centers. But combining blade architectures with server virtualization can cause problems with I/O and storage systems.

By Ellen O'Brien • July 11, 2008

A guide to storage virtualization

Few technologies are more confusing than storage virtualization. Without a guide to explain the different storage virtualization solutions, storage administrators who want to deploy this technology will be lost.

June 12, 2008

Determining the number of drives in a RAID group

How many drives in a RAID group will it take to give you the performance you need for a database or email or file server, or for that new VMware implementation?

By Joel Lovell • May 22, 2008

Predicting data storage growth

If your customers have deep pockets, predicting data storage growth is a relatively easy chore using storage resource management (SRM) tools. But for smaller companies with equally small budgets, you'll need to be more creative. Learn the techniques for assessing historical growth to help customers get optimum use out of their storage resources.

May 2, 2008

Host bus adapter (HBA) architecture explained

HBAs are integral pieces of a SAN environment -- they connect the server to the SAN -- but few storage administrators know how to configure them.

By Bob Violino • April 29, 2008

How to size a SAN

If your DAS storage infrastructure has reached its limits, or your existing SAN is out of date or just plain end-of-life, your first step will be to know what your storage requirements are.

By Joel Lovell • April 21, 2008

The cost of tape vs. disk data backup

Here's how to determine the cost of disk vs. tape in your data backup environment.

By Russ Fellows • April 15, 2008

Five tips for creating a backup service-level agreement

Learn how to write a backup service-level agreement that will keep the peace between IT and information users.

By George Crump • Feb. 15, 2008

Iron Mountain acquires Stratify for $158M

Iron Mountain will add legal processing to its e-discovery services through the purchase of its legal review partner.

By Beth Pariseau • Oct. 31, 2007

How to calculate available disk space on a RAID 5

Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question: "How do I calculate the disk space available on my RAID 5?"

By Ashley D'Costa • Oct. 29, 2007

RAID levels defined

This tip offers a listing of the RAID levels in use today and details the characteristics and applications of each.

By Greg Schulz • June 27, 2007

How to choose the correct RAID level

This tip offers nine things to consider when deciding which RAID level is right for your organization's needs.

By Greg Schulz • June 27, 2007

RAID 4 vs. RAID 5

Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa discusses RAID 4 vs. RAID 5.

By Ashley D'Costa • June 18, 2007

How to destroy data on backup tapes

This tip offers guidelines for destroying data on backup tapes, with information about degaussing, tape cartridge destruction, tape reuse and record keeping.

By Rick Cook • June 5, 2007

RAID-5 configuration

Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question about RAID-5.

By Ashley D'Costa • May 3, 2007

How to estimate the lifespan of LTO tapes

This tip outlines what you need to consider when estimating the lifespan of LTO tape. It's not as black and white as LTO tape manufacturers would like you to believe.

By Rick Cook • May 1, 2007

Storage virtualization: Where and how

This tip outlines the various locations to implement storage virtualization functionality, the different approaches to storage virtualization and offers suggestions on how to choose the right approach for your environment.

By Greg Schulz • April 24, 2007

What is unstructured data and how is it different from structured data in the enterprise?

Expert Pierre Dorion talks about unstructured data and its impact on the data enterprise.

By Pierre Dorion • March 27, 2007

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager vs. traditional backup

Learn about the architectural concepts behind IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager backup software and the main differences with what are often referred to as "traditional" backup products. This piece is the first of a series of four on Tivoli Storage Manager.

By Pierre Dorion • Jan. 30, 2007

Block and file access unite with multiprotocol storage

This tip looks at the pros and cons, as well as when and where to deploy multiprotocol storage, which is also referred to as "unified" storage.

By Greg Schulz • Jan. 24, 2007

Face-Off: EMC DMX-3 vs. Hitachi USP1100

Only a handful of storage vendors produce truly top-of-the-line arrays, and EMC and Hitachi Data Systems dominate those ranks with their respective Symmetrix DMX-3 and TagmaStore USP1100 products. These vendors attain high capacity and high performance using two very different architectures. We examine the differences to see if one approach outstrips the other.

Jan. 10, 2007

Hard zoning vs. soft zoning

SAN expert Greg Schulz explains the difference between hard and soft zoning.

By Greg Schulz • Jan. 4, 2007